Something’s got me started

Simply Red - the band are embarking on a UK tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their album 'Stars'

Published:15:00Sunday 30 October 2016

Share this article

It was 25 years ago on September 30, 1991 that Simply Red released ‘Stars’.

Little did the band know then that the album would go on to make music history and catapult them to super stardom.

The Stars album is 25 this year

It has since gone twelve-time certified platinum and was the best-selling UK album for two consecutive years, 1991 and 1992, – a feat that hasn’t been repeated since.

“I could never have imagined that Stars would have made the impact that it did,” recalls singer Mick Hucknall. “It has always been about the music for me.

“I do have this faith in music and I believe that it will shine through long after I am gone.

“I don’t really care about the contemporary side of it all because I’m always trying to make music that will last a long time and I think that Stars has proved that.”

The band’s fourth album and the first to feature a collection of songs written entirely by Mick Hucknall, the release of Stars soon saw the band collecting awards for their efforts.

Hucknall received an Ivor Novello award for Best Songwriter of the Year in 1991 in addition to a Brit award for Best British band that same year.

“After the huge success of ‘A New Flame’ (the band’s third album) I set myself the challenge of composing a set of original songs,” Mick explained of the album’s concept.

“The success of Stars is still something that surprises me – but definitely in a good way. We obviously did something right!”

To celebrate the album’s milestone anniversary, Simply Red will be hitting the road next month.

Each show will be split into two halves. The first will feature a collection of the band’s biggest hits, followed in the second half by Stars in its original running order.

Despite having played over 100 shows in the past year, at locations across the globe, Hucknall is still amazed at how fresh the whole thing felt – a fact he attributes to the quality of his fellow musicians.

“It’s been great seeing so many smiling faces out there in the crowd. We’ve also noticed a lot more younger people coming along to see us.

“I guess some people are discovering our music for the first time and that’s fantastic.

“And that’s all I wanted – to make music that will last.

“For us as a band, it’s more about putting on the best show that we can. I’m really lucky to have such an amazing band.

“We’re all on the same wavelength when it comes do doing live shows.

“We constantly push each other to perform at our best, to go above and beyond for the audience because at the end of the day, if the audience isn’t enjoying the shows, then we’re not doing our job properly!”

But after a mammoth run of shows – 100 to be exact – the band have a few tricks up their sleeves to keep the shows fresh this time around.

“Rather than just play the same songs that we’ve been playing for the last year, we’re going to introduce a few songs that we haven’t played for a while, a few fan favourites.” Mick explained.

“There will be plenty of big Simply Red hits, but maybe not the most obvious ones!”